Gingrich: Campaigns Have Ups and Downs

Mercury News reports:

Newt Gingrich on Wednesday brushed aside continuing upheaval in his presidential campaign, noting that Republican hero Ronald Reagan suffered defections in his 1980 campaign and went on to win the White House.

"The fact is, campaigns go up and down," the former House speaker said in a speech before the Atlanta Press Club.

"I'm not running to talk about the nuances of the campaign," he said. "I'm running because we have enormous problems."

Gingrich noted that if early political handicapping were accurate, Hillary Rodham Clinton would have been the Democratic nominee for president in 2008, not Barack Obama. And he said John McCain, who went on to win the Republican presidential nomination that same year, survived the walkout of key staff and a lack of cash.

On Tuesday, Gingrich's campaign confirmed that its top fundraisers had left. Sixteen top advisers and staff walked out earlier this month. His campaign for the GOP nomination has struggled to raise money. And it's carrying $1 million in debt, according to people close to the campaign, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss its inner workings.